Sandprints

Yes: Life is pleasure, life is grand,
__Life is sweet and fleeting;
Alike a stroll upon the sand,
__Alike a heart that’s beating
In measured pace, step after step,
__In meter through our days,
We grow, we build, and then we ebb,
__And then we wash away.
The waves are but the tips of sea
__That glisten in the sun
To kiss the soles of you and me:
__All things in God are one.
And here, with stars and ocean deep,
__We each awake to sleep.

 

 

Morning

Uneasy is the sleep of eyes awake
__and gray
When in the dream of life asleep
__to day
You hear but do not answer me.
__I say,
“Good morning.” then you smile until you drift
__away.

 

 

Figment

Fresh, Carolina
__home sweet where she would be;
Dream, Carolina
__blue deep the sky above;
Feel, Carolina
__sand white along the sea;
See, Carolina
__tall strong the pine she loves;
Sigh, Carolina
__soul full that she might breathe
Still: Carolina,
__earth sound to rest in thee.

 

 

Reply

“I don’t know what to do.” you said to me
The day before the day before you died,
And I replied, “I don’t know what to do.”
Your eyes looked on in fright …We both cried.

And I am crying yet with pen in hand,
Unknowing what is best to say to you
Who now is bravely gone away to where
I dare not go. My sweet: What should I do?

Tonight I seal away your little book
Of verse composed in love, in lust, in fun,
Upon occasion, in response, in jest
To make you smile and laugh. Now, it is done.
It is over, perhaps. Yet, who can say?
In heaven, might we kiss again, and play?

 

 

Bee-Bee Verses is available through Amazon; 96 pages, 65 verses, 22 of which are a sonnet sequence. Published for her, last year; updated, last month.

Michael Curtis has 40 years of experience in architecture, sculpture, and painting. He has taught and lectured at universities, colleges, and museums including The Institute of Classical Architecture, The National Gallery of Art, et cetera. His pictures and statues are housed in over 400 private and public collections including The Library of Congress, The Supreme Court, et alibi; his verse has been published in over 20 journals. Mr. Curtis consults on scholarly, cultural, and artistic projects, currently: Curator, Plinth & Portal; Co-Director, The Anacostia Project; Vice-President, Liberty Fund, D.C.; Lead Designer on the 58 square mile city of AEGEA.

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8 Responses

  1. Leo Zoutewelle

    Michael, these were beautiful poems; “Reply” touched me deeply.
    Thank you.
    Leo

    Reply
  2. C.B. Anderson

    Michael, I thought all of these were enticingly elusive, with a heavy dose of a light touch, where what you did not state did not need to be stated directly. They affected me in a way that few poems have ever done, and I will try to learn from you, because I find that much of my own work is too cerebral and overly heavy-handed. These poems are not carved in stone, but fashioned from sheer gossamer.

    Reply
  3. Mark F. Stone

    Michael, I enjoyed all four poems. “Reply” is well constructed and very moving. After reading “Sandprints,” I said “Wow, this is really good!” Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  4. James Sale

    Beautiful poetry, Michael, very beautiful. Your use of refrain is exquisite and deft. And there are lines which are so simple but so profound too: I love the ‘The day before the day before you died’, that specificity really captures the heart of it. Well done. It is a sad reflection that so much really good and great poetry needs must come from the personal tragedies of life. If we were happy all the time, how would we feel in this way? Write in this way?

    Reply
  5. Joseph S. Salemi

    “Sandprints” reminds me, in both subject and tone, of Ernest Dowson’s “Vitae Summa Brevis…”

    Reply
  6. Edward "Ted" Hayes

    Mr.
    A touching poem, for me the moreso as I faced death myself after an emergency operation in June. Your verses project the agony of the final loss. One criticism: in line three of the second verse you use the verb “is;” I would prefer “are.” The lines would then read: “You . . .who now are gone.” No one would say “You who is gone.” All we can do when the last day is over is, face it.

    Reply
  7. Karmel Sowers

    Beautiful. And yes, you will be reunited in Heaven. I firmly believe this.

    Reply
    • C.B. Anderson

      I hope you won’t be too disappointed if this doesn’t happen. I am no friend of spiritual materialism.

      Reply

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